Defence can only take you so far. It's goals that win games and, unfortunately, Greece are missing that spark to ignite an attack. Looking lost and confused, the Greeks stumbled to an embarrassing loss against South Korea in Port Elizabeth on Saturday, taking their World Cup tally to four winless games without a goal.

Without any midfield creativity and speed the team is forced to play a long-ball style of game, defenders just punt the ball up the pitch and the forwards are expected to create chances without any support. A huge hole exists where the midfield is supposed to be found.

Otto Rehhagel's insistence on starting his ageing veterans from Euro 2004 is the reason for Greece's failure in attack and leaving a player with pace and creativity like Sotiris Ninis on the bench for the entire South Korea game was a big blunder. Dimitrios Salpingidis was the best player for Greece by far in the opener and he only played 30 minutes coming on as a sub. Unless a change is made for the match with Nigeria, the result will be the same.

Angelos Charisteas's best days are behind him and he clearly lacks the speed needed to cause problems. He is a one-trick pony and a sub at best. The same goes for the captain, Giorgos Karagounis, who only cares about taking all the set pieces and never tracking back to cover his position. Kostas Katsouranis is another one of Rehhagel's golden XI and he was mainly responsible for South Korea's opening goal, completely mis-timing the header to clear the free-kick.

The reliance on out-of-form players is Rehhagel's mistake. Sotiris Kyrgiakos's exclusion from the line-up also made me wonder what exactly the coach was thinking, his size would have provided an added attacking weapon in the air and his physical style of play was needed desperately on the defensive side. The German coach needs to put his best players on the pitch right from the start and forget about pleasing the players who won him the European Championship, loyalty has to be set aside for the greater good.

Shouts can already be heard for Rehhagel's resignation back in Greece. The miraculous run in Portugal aside, the team hasn't really built on their success and failed to live up to lofty expectations since. Simply put, Rehhagel has failed to get the best out of his players and deploys his usual defensive-minded tactics that won't catch anyone by surprise anymore. Naturally, the Greeks lack star quality and there isn't a player on the roster who can singlehandedly change the outcome of a game. A combined team effort is needed but you can't expect to improve by playing the same tired system.

This is the main reason Greece haven't been able to build on the success of 2004. An embarrassing 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign followed, then the team offered a dreadful defence of their European crown in 2008. In all competitions the common denominator was a lack of fresh faces who could make a difference and breath new life into the squad. Once again the starting XI, formations and tactics stayed the same and so did the results for Greece.

The writing is on the wall, Greece will need a miracle to get past the group stage in this World Cup and, unfortunately, they used up all the magic in 2004. The team needs a change to move forward positively and, as Rehhagel seems defiantly against making changes on the pitch, the next step is an obvious one. All Greeks are grateful for all that the German has accomplished for the country, but it's time for a new outlook and a fresh start. It's been six years and you can make the arguement the national team is going down the wrong path and getting worse. Qualification is not enough anymore and Greek fans deserve to see quality on the pitch when it counts. I believe we have the players capable of elevating the team, they just need a chance to do so.

The past won't be forgotten and the Greek Gods of Lisbon will always have their place in history, after all they put us on the footballing map. The recent influx of foreigners in the Greek Super League is proof of this, add to that the amount of Greeks playing abroad and the future is looking bright. But it's now time for the old guard to step aside and let the new blood come through the ranks. Only then will Greece reach their full potential.